Sunday, 24 July 2016

Coming home to Lalitpur

The last 24 hours have been a blur. But here is the focus. 24 hours ago we were in Mussoorie. Now we are reunited as a family here in Lalitpur. Dad, Mum, Vicky and I are here with Sheba and Enoch.

The beauty of it all. These are days of miracle and wonder...
We have received grace upon grace.

Start with 3 days ago when we made the prayerful choice to come here to continue Dad's palliation at Lalitpur. With Dad in such pain and discomfort, just moving from bed to chair being so difficult, a trip down to the doctor in Dehra Dun a basic impossibility... the idea of all of us doing the multiple legs of the journey to here seemed absurd. And yet we had' prayed and had been given an inner peace and common focus that we needed to make this decision in this way.

Just to see Dad dressed and ready to go was amazing.

And so swelled by a huge cloud of witnesses, we left the clouds for the plains.

Of the many prayer requests that were granted, the first one was this: It had rained almost non-stop in Mussoorie for days. The thought of carrying Dad up in a stretcher to Sisters Bazaar was daunting.

And lo and behold - yesterday afternoon the rain stopped. And it did not rain in Mussoorie until after we had transported Dad up using our stretcher at 8 PM.

There was plenty of mist around, but not a drop. As the twilight settled in, I could not resist taking a last shot of the Shanti Kunj gate.

Dad had to do some last minute sorting out - and what a joy to see him at his old desk, getting some of his important files.

One of Dad's life-long habits is his organisation. All the documents so neatly put away. A place for everything and everything in its place. It is times like this when the hard work and diligence he put in pays off big-time. All he needed was a few minutes at the desk and we were ready to go.

When will he sit at that desk again? Hard questions to answer of course. But we know that from here he touched the world through his emails of encouragement - and the prayers that he poured out for the many.

And so into the darkness of the night. We had 15 people materialise at the appointed hour. Most not directly invited, but there because they heard about Dad's big shift and their love for him and Mum. A quick prayer and the stretcher (first time in use) carrying Dad was borne up to Sister's bazaar by willing hands.

Another prayer at the top and we were moving down in the darkness through the twisty streets driven with extra loving care and caution by our dear Bhagat. The twistyness gave Dad nausea and after a massive bout of vomitting, I was wondering whether we could go ahead with the journey. But we prayed and carried on. Dad was fine all the way down to Dehra Dun.

On the way another party met us. Dear pastors who love Dad and Mum so much. And at the Dehra Dun railway station another group of loved ones. The train was a bit late so we stayed in Bhagat's vehicle till it arrived - and then wheeled Dad using a wheel-chair the railway provided over to the berths we had reserved.

What a miracle to be in that train and see Dad getting almost 6 hours of sleep. And that too on a noisy train - when in the thick silence of Mussoorie the slightest sound would have him clutch his chest. We are so grateful for the pain medication that morphine brings. It is not complete at this point - as Dad's pain levels seem to be spiralling up - but we are thankful for the help it gives Dad.

When the train pulled into New Delhi station - we had another set of blessings. Ram Surat, David adn Stephanie, and Raaj were there. Dad was wheeled over to the correct platform for the next train and we sat drinking coffee and talking - glad that Dad had done so well so far. Then Mum swooned. The tiredness of the past few months plain to see.

We had her lie on the bench and talk to Stephanie.

How much we felt the swell of prayer all the way through. Dad experienced pain - but this was largely controlled by the medication. He was tired - but was able to sleep. He revived and spoke to his fellow passengers much like he always does on train rides. It was almost as if we were on one of the many many trips of yore... Indian Railways has had loyal customers in the Eichers of the years.

But here it was - the seemingly impossible - Dad who was in such pain and discomfort 5 days ago - now travelling across the country - switching trains... Amazing grace!

All through the day grace was tangible. We could feel people praying for us - and are so grateful for all who did.

And so we arrived at Lalitpur station 1.5 hours late - but so full of thankfulness.

And once again we saw love in action. The HBM hospital welcoming team had 5 strong men ready to assist Dad with a wheel chair and stretcher - and they brought both the jeep and the ambulance... just in case Dad was unable to sit in the jeep. Dr. Tony Bishwas was on hand to give any immediate care needed - and Enoch was their as the family rep.

When we drove into the HBM Hospital campus it was really a sense of coming home. And there was my beautiful Sheba at the door of Bethel Villa - and with her... another amazing set of people - the HBM hospital community - with the palliative care team all ready to pitch in to help. We had returned to so much love.

Its very late at night, but we are so glad for every person who prayed for us. It is a miracle to have dad here with us in Lalitpur. We have started a new chapter in our lives together - and are so grateful to the peace of heart that God gave us to make this big step - and the fulfillment of grace through bringing Dad here with so much strength and such a wonderful sense of his old spark - given the way the cancer continues to eat away at his 'outer man.'

At the end of the day (and that is what it is now) we have had an extraordinary trip. One more twist in the long winding road of our grace-filled lives together.

18 comments:

beautiful . . .thank you for sharing with us . . . I love the pic of your dad engaged with his friend and your mom laying on the bench at the train station with the luggage -- such a normal shot in their journey, having travelled all over for Jesus . . . the journey continues. Peace and love to all of you -- please give my greetings to your parents.

How wonderful to read how God answered prayer! I've prayed, because humanly speaking when I read your last post, I thought, "How on earth will they do that!?" All glory to God for His faithfulness to His servants who have been so faithful to Him. Thanks for keeping us informed. My love to you all!

Andi, Sheba, Ray, Christa, we pray daily blessings, grace strength, love. We kowingly walk with you each through these days: days full of unknowns, but filled with the Spirit-blessed presence of a Loving and Gracious Creator God.

On the plains the fading footprints of OM From the peak of Musoorrie the departure of Ray Eicher No OM in India, no Ray Eicher at Shanti KunjEnd of an era?Who knows but the signs, they do not bode well. When the Great God withdraws his prophets the land must trembleWho shall pray for us that are left.

So wonderful to read of God's leading and grace as you made this long journey. We pray for Ray, Christa and the rest of your family as you travel on together with the help of a loving and caring community and sheltered in His arms.

As always, I am greatly moved as I read of this journey. I am of the age when I know that this could soon be me. Oh that I too might finish the race well! Your family is blessed with the legacy of a godly heritage. May His joy and peace surround you and lift you up.

Brother Ray is now a history. The news of his passing away reached me at 3:a.m on the 14th. I was hit hard. I was in tears till the noon. I was in a worship and had to preach in a "Full Gospel Church Of God" church. I wept in the presence of the Lord for over 2 hours pouring my heart for dear sister Christa and the Children. Lord Jesus was at the tomb of Lazarus and knew well that he will be raised. But still JESUS WEPT, openly, Why? People said," See how much He loved Him'? yes, we loved him and our love will continue with you all and dear sister Christa.

Jeevan Sahara Kendra

The Lalitpur Eichers

About Us

5 of us in the core family - Andi and Sheba as parents and Asha, Enoch and Yohan as the budding kids!
... We work with the Harriet Benson Memorial Hospital - a mission hospital in the town of Lalitpur in a rural drought-prone district (also called Lalitpur) in Uttar Pradesh ...
We are worshipping with other followers of Jesus Christ in Lalitpur and hoping that our friends and neighbours will taste the goodness of our Lord ...
We are pilgrims here, but with a purpose.